Bloat and your dog

I come to you today after a scare that came from when our prized retriever had to be rushed to the vet after exhibiting signs of bloat. By being aware she was acting differently and reacting swiftly, I was able to get her to the vet before anything serious could occur.

I had no idea what bloat was until I got her to the vet, but I could tell that my dog was acting strangely. 1) She was really lethargic, 2) her stomach seemed to be expanded out past the width of her rib cage, 3) she was drooling heavily, 4) she had unproductive bouts of throwing up, 5) she kept turning her head and looking at her side. From those signs I could tell she was in pain and had to act, I didn't care if it was just gas.

At the vet she was x-rayed right away to see if she had any rotation in her enlarged stomach. That's what bloat is, a dog gets too much air or food or water in its stomach, the stomach expands, and then the stomach rotates, which could cut off blood flow to vital organs below the stomach if not treated right away. It has the ability to kill dogs in a matter of hours. After the x-rays that showed some rotation, we rushed her to the emergency vet for another set of x-rays and surgery, if need be, to rotate the stomach back.

It turned out that while her stomach decompressed and some of the trapped air escaped, the stomach settled back to its original-safe position. Apparently there's an 80% chance that the stomach would become twisted though. That is why it's the second leading cause of dog deaths, especially in the larger breeds.

So, all this to say: Be wary of signs of bloat, you need to act on it otherwise you will lose your best friend.

For more information on symptoms, precautions, and hazards, check out the link at the top of the thread.

I come to you today after a scare that came from when our prized retriever had to be rushed to the vet after exhibiting signs of bloat. By being aware she was acting differently and reacting swiftly, I was able to get her to the vet before anything serious could occur.

All you need to know about bloat

I had no idea what bloat was until I got her to the vet, but I could tell that my dog was acting strangely. 1) She was really lethargic, 2) her stomach seemed to be expanded out past the width of her rib cage, 3) she was drooling heavily, 4) she had unproductive bouts of throwing up, 5) she kept turning her head and looking at her side. From those signs I could tell she was in pain and had to act, I didn't care if it was just gas.

At the vet she was x-rayed right away to see if she had any rotation in her enlarged stomach. That's what bloat is, a dog gets too much air or food or water in its stomach, the stomach expands, and then the stomach rotates, which could cut off blood flow to vital organs below the stomach if not treated right away. It has the ability to kill dogs in a matter of hours. After the x-rays that showed some rotation, we rushed her to the emergency vet for another set of x-rays and surgery, if need be, to rotate the stomach back.

It turned out that while her stomach decompressed and some of the trapped air escaped, the stomach settled back to its original-safe position. Apparently there's an 80% chance that the stomach would become twisted though. That is why it's the second leading cause of dog deaths, especially in the larger breeds.

So, all this to say: Be wary of signs of bloat, you need to act on it otherwise you will lose your best friend.

For more information on symptoms, precautions, and hazards, check out the link at the top of the thread.